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Apr 23, 2013

Vamps and Shape-shifters and Telepaths,oh my!

When Charlaine Harris crafted the tale about a telepathic waitress and her vampire beau, I doubt she knew that she was starting a craze. HBO soon caught on, and began turning the series into a television series called True Blood starring Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton, Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte, and (the super attractive) Alexander Skarsgård as Eric. The show is about to start it's sixth season on June 16th, and has an avid fan base (who doesn't like attractive men... oh, and blood). I've just finished the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark, and hope to work my way through the rest of them, possibly watching the HBO series as I go.

The series begins with the introduction of a vampire, one of the undead - who have recently been legally recognized as existing, though excuses were made for their existence - a Bill Compton. Bill has recently moved to a small town in Louisiana with the intention of "mainstreaming," or basically not eating humans. Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress that just so happens to be telepathic (meaning that she can hear people's thoughts... basically an X-Men character... oh... wait...), develops a fascination with Bill because she can't hear his thoughts. You would too if you were barraged by the darkest secrets of your creepy neighbors all the time. His "silence" is welcome (and by that she means his heart isn't beating. But it's not... see what I did there?... I give up.)

Bill complicates things for Sookie in a town where already she is not entirely accepted, though she may have lived there from birth. His existence, and her budding love affair with him, is looked down upon, by the residents of Bon Temps. As their love grows into something very unusual - an unselfish bond between a vampire and a human (Bill sounds like a parasite.) - a series of seemingly vampire-related attacks rack the town of Bon Temps. Murders of people close to Sookie, and the suspicion cast on her brother, forces her to use her gift to attempt to track down the killer. This gift also brings her into contact with a powerful vampire named Eric who'd like to use her for himself. Sookie seems to instantly become the most desirable thing in southern Louisiana, because her boss, Sam, also craves Sookie's attention, and makes her aware of it through his hazy thoughts. When Bill leaves town, Sam reveals to Sookie that he has supernatural gifts as well. He's a shapeshifter, and he wants to protect her. Unfortunately, his protection doesn't seem adequate, nor is the security vamp Bill left to watch over Sookie. She is attacked, but makes it out alive, and the identity of the killer shocks everyone. After all is said and done, Bon Temps, Louisiana seems like it will go back to normal again. Bill has gained a position of power, and Sookie is healing from her bruises and broken bones. I guess I'll just have to see what happens in the next book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas!